It certainly can happen in some very localized areas. When I go looking in the desert, I watch the radar and go straight to the spot where it rained, even if it's only a two mile radius. I will find founding chambers in that spot, but not a single one outside that area.
Retroman has managed to breed ants in captivity. I have proof of it right in my collection of colonies, as my P. tenuispinus colony came from this year's breeding. He explained how he did it in this post (http://forum.formicu...21-2014/?p=5708) on my P. tenuispinus journal.
Keep in mind, this was done during the same time of the year that they fly in the wild.